Fundraising for the school library in Darou, Senegal

Help make our friend Mo’s dream come true

Mo, or Baboye Mohamadou Niane, originally from Senegal, was the Varia’s stage manager for many years. Sadly, he passed away on 17 January 2025.

Mo had dreams. In his spare time, he would gather people and materials to improve life in his home village, Darou. One of his dreams was to set up a library there. In his memory and to help make this dream a reality, we are appealing to your generosity.

Find out more about the project

Mo left behind a family and friends, including Nathalie Peetermans, his soul sister and a musician who often visits Senegal. There is also François Ebouele, an actor, director and founder of ‘Les Passeurs de livres’, as well as Michèle Godefroy, a librarian, storyteller and ‘Passeuse de livres’. Together, they decided to work on Mo’s project: to create this library to give children access to reading.

The Belgian non-profit organisation La Compagnie L’Archer - Les Passeurs de livres, our late friend Baboye Mohamadou Niane and Nathalie Peetermans had initiated discussions to involve the management of the Darou school and the Mayor in this project to create a library on the school premises.

Since Mo’s passing, Nathalie has taken over, as she knows the school headteacher well and is familiar with how the administration works in Senegal. She is now the link between Belgium and Senegal.

What is the current status of the project?

Since the launch of the project to establish libraries in French-speaking Africa, La Compagnie L’Archer – Les Passeurs de livres, thanks to a dynamic team of friends and volunteers, has already established the following libraries:
- Eno Belinga in Yaoundé, Cameroon – opened in January
2018- Zoétélé in southern Cameroon – opened in May
2023- Kankan in Guinea Conakry – opened in November 2025

Darou-Thioub is a Fulani village in the commune of Sangalkam, in the Rufisque department, near Dakar in Senegal. It is Mo’s village, and it is the village’s primary school that will be home to one of his dreams: a school library.

As with previous projects, the creation and running of a library cannot take place without the vital involvement of local partners. This is why La Compagnie L’Archer - Les Passeurs de Livres is working with the management of Darou primary school and the Mayor to set up this library.

To date, thanks to contacts in the publishing world, libraries and private individuals in Belgium, more than 3,000 books have been collected, sorted, prepared and packed into boxes, ready to be sent to Senegal for the primary school in Darou. The plan is then to travel to the village of Darou to organise and oversee the setting up of the library, before handing over responsibility to the school management and those in charge of its day-to-day running.

Whilst the strength of this project lies, among other things, in the collection of books in good condition, the association lacks the financial resources to achieve its objectives.

Staff at the town hall will take charge of renovating the premises that will house the library. However, the association lacks the funds to transport the books by boat and to build the shelves, tables and benches.

And that is why we are now appealing for your donations to support this project, which was so dear to our friend Mo. All donations will be passed on to the association.